Shade-fixture.



No. 823,745. PATENTED JUNE 19, 1906.

S. STEWART.

SHADE FIXTURE.

APPLICATION FILED OOTA, 1905.

- 50 V JNVENTOR WITNESSES: Q2421 57M G164. T: 4 W

27 I lb/OM W SCOTT STEWART, OF FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA.

' SHADE-FIXTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. June 19,1906.

Application filed October 4, 1965. $eria1 No. 281,815.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Soor'r STEWART, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fairmont, in the county of Marion and State of WestVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShade-Fixtures, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in shade-fixtures, and has for itsobject the provision of a device, preferably located on one of thespindles of the-shade-roller, for pre venting the shadeor curtain beingentirely wound upon the roller when the clutchmechanism at the other endof the roller fails to work properly or other accidental means causesthe curtain or shade to wind up rapidly. In raising a curtain or shadewhich winds upon a spring-actuatedroller when the hand is released fromthe shade in many cases the shade will wind upon the roller by theaction of the spring, the clutch mechanism failing to work, and theshade is wound to its extreme limit on the roller, often causing injuryto the shade and annoyance to the operator. It is to revent thiscontingency arising that I app y my device to a spring-actuated rollerof a curtain or'shade. The rapid rotation of the shade-roller in windingthe shade thereon causes my; device to become operativeto retard andstop the rise of the curtain. V

A further object of the invention is to improve curtain-fixtures incertain other par-v ticulars, as will be explained.

The invention consists, broadly, of means carried by the spring-rollerwhich when the centrifugal action caused by the rapid rotation of theroller becomes great enough will be thrown out to travel'in a ath havingan immovable obstruction therein, and the contact of thiscentrifugally-operated means with the obstruction retards and stopstherise of the curtain.

The invention further consists in the use of an adjustable frictionmember located upon one of the spindles of the roller, whereby-the powerof the spring roller may be varied and regulated, and the action of themeans for stopping the rapid rotation of the roller and sha e in windin-may be gradual; and the invention still rther consists in certain novelfeatures of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, aswill be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one example ofthecomplete physical ism of Fig. 7.

embodiment of my invention made according to the best mode I have so fardevised for the practical application of the principles and a modifiedform of the detent or stoparm used in the device.

Figure 1 is a view showing a curtain-shade partly wound upon a rollerembodying the. Fig. 2. is.

novel features of my invention. an enlarged front View of one end of aspring-roller having my stopping deviceapplied thereto. tional view ofFig. 1, the bracket being omitted. Fig. 4 is a view With thecoveromitted of a box or casing which is located. on a spindle of the rollerand has a pivoted stop-arm or-detent therein. Fig. 5 is an end view. ofFig, 2. Fi 6 is a lan: view of a friction member inc uded in t einvention. Fig. 7 is a broken sectional'view showing the end of theroller at the left of the shade. .Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing theclutch mechan- Fig. 9 is a plan view of one of the clutch members. Fig.10 is .a similar view of a second clutch member. Fig. 11 is a side Viewof the bracket at the left-hand or spring end of the roller. viewof apart of the bracket in Fig. 11, and

- Fig. 13 is a view of a modifiedform of the detent or stop-arm, andFig. 14 illustrates its application to a roller.

'With the addition of a peculiar form of one of the roller brackets orhangers my invention is adaptable for use with shades or curtains as nowplaced upon the market.

In applying the device for use theroller 1. upon which the curtain orshade 2 is to be wound is provided with a spindle 3, which may be ascrew havin a head 3, which head acts as a journal for t e roller andrevolves in the bracket 4, the other bracket-4' being of Fig. 3 1s acentral-vertical sec-- Fig. 12 is a detached a fp eculiar construction,to be described hereina t Upon the spindle 3 and located next the roller'1 is a friction member 5, preferably of leather or otherflexible andtough material, and between said friction member or disk 5 too and thehead 3 of the spindle is interposed the metallic casing 6, having a slot6 in its circumferential wall. The head 3 bears directly against thecover 7 of thecasing 6, and said cover as well as the casing and diskeach have an opening in their centers through which the spindle 3 may bepassed. It will be understood from this construction that the roller,friction member, and casing are-held in frictional contact by the head 3and tha they rotate together, with the head 3 as a journal.

Within the casing 6 an arm or detent 8, having a counterbalancingweighted end 9, is pivoted at point 10. The end of the detent 8 innormal position is located in the slot 6 of the casing, and when inoperative position said detent projects through the slot, as will beexplained. The bracket 4 is provided with an extension or catch-arm 11,which projects horizontally over the plane of travel of the casing 6 inrotating.

In operation suppose the shade has been pulled down slightly, with aview to raising or adjusting it. If the clutch fails to work and thehand is released from the shade, the spring rotates the roller rapidly,winding the shade thereon. The rapid rotation of the roller, frictionmember, and easing on the journal causes the detent or arm 8 to bethrown out by centrifugal action, and said arm is projected through theslot 6 and travels round with the casing 6. In its rotation the armstrikes against the extension or catch-arm 11 of the bracket 4 andretards and stops the rotation of the entire shade.

The screw 3 may be turned to a greater or less de ree for regulating thefriction between the re ler and the stopping mechanism. When the screwis turned tight, the roller, friction member or disk, and easing rotateas one, and when the arm 8 contacts with the catch-arm 11 the winding ofthe shade is stopped suddenly. In many instances it is desirable thatthe shade should not be stopped suddenly, but gradually. To provide agradual stopping or retarding of the rotation of the roller, it is onlynecessary to release slightly the binding pressure of the roller, disk,and casing by unscrewing the spindle 3, thus reducing the frictionbetween the members. In this condition when the arm 8 strikes thecatch-arm 1 1 the sudden shock of contact is taken up and the forceexpended in the friction between the members as the rotation isgradually retarded.

While, as before stated, the invention is applicable to usualconstruction of shaderollers, I prefer to employ, in combination with mystopping mechanism, a peculiar and novel clutch winding mechanism andbracket for the left-hand end of the shade and roller.

As illustrated in Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, the rod 12 has securedthereto a non-rotating spindle 13, which carries the disk 14. Disk 14has a plurality of cam-notches 15 15 and is surrounded by the ring oropen disk 16, having notches 17 therein, the whole being inclosed on theend of the roller 1 by a thimble 18. Balls 21 are seated in the notches17 and tend to connect the two clutch members 14 and 16 as usual.

The bracket 4 (illustrated in Fi .11) is provided with a series of holes25 on an arc struck from the journal center of the bracket.

An enlarged opening is cut around the center of the bracket, and overthe edges 26 of the opening tongues 27 of the pawl 28 clench said pawlto the bracket 4. Thus it will be seen that the pawl may be turnedwithin the opening, guided by the tongues, to adjust the pawl so thatits slot 29 will be in position to receive a variety of spring-rollers,and the pawl is locked in its adjusted position by inserting the springtongue or end 30 into one of the holes 25.

While I have shown only one completed example of the physical embodimentof my invention, it will be understood that minor changes andalterations may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventionas, for instance, in the modification illustrated in Figs. 13and 14. The detent S has a slot therein, as 31, which surrounds thespindle 3, and is adapted to slide, when thrown out by centrifugalforce, in the groove 32 and project through the slot or opening 6 in thecasing 6. The casing illustrated has no cover, but the head 3 of thespindle bears against a convex disk 33 in the casing,which provides fora spring action similar to that of head or cover 7.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a shade-roller and its clutch mechanism of meansfor automatically stopping said roller when the roller rotates at anexcessive speed and a friction de i ice adapted to render said stoppinggradua 2. The combination with a spring-actuated roller and its clutchmechanism, of a fixed obstruction, centrifugally operated means on theroller adapted to contact with said obstruction when the roller rotatesat an excessive speed, and friction means to render the resultingstopping gradual.

3. The combination with a shade-roller and its clutch mechanism, of afixed member having an obstruction thereon, centrifugallyoperated meanson the roller adapted to contact therewith to stop the accidentalwinding rotation of the roller, and friction means for rendering saidstopping gradual.

4. The combination with a spring-operated shade-roller and its clutchmechanism, of a casing, a pivoted detent therein adapted to be moved bycentrifugal action, a spindle, a

bracket having a catch-arm in the path. of

centrifugal travel of the detent, and a friction member between thecasing and roller.

5. The combination with a spring-operated shade-roller, of a spindle, amember thereon having a pivoted detent adapted to be moved bycentrifugal action, a bracket havin a catch-arm in the centrifugal pathof trave of said detent, and friction means for taking up the shock ofcontact between said detent and catch-arm.

6. The combination with a spring-operated shade-roller and its clutchmechanism, of a s indle, a member thereon having a pivoted etent adaptedto be moved by centrifugal action, a fixed obstruction in thecentrifugal path of travel of said detent, and friction means locatedbetween the roller and the detent forgradually stopping the windingrotation of the roller.

7.- The combination with a spring-operated shade-roller and its clutchmechanism, of a spindle, a slotted casing thereon having a pivoteddetent'therein, a bracket and an obstruction thereon in the path ofcentrifugal travel of said detent, and a friction member located on thespindle between the casing and roller.

8. The combination with a shade-roller and spring-rod having a notcheddisk thereon, a spring adaptedto impart motion to the roller in onedirection an open ring surroundin said disk and provided with notches,and ba ls to engage said notches means for stopping the winding rotationof the roller when the roller rotates at an excessive speed, andfriction means for rendering said stoppage gradual.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

SCOTT STEWART. Witnesses:

W; A. LAWLER, I O. P. McKrNNEY. I g

